Combining 'big science' research data from different sources and standards: The case of Gravitational Waves and GRB search

The goal of this poster is to trace an overview on the flowing and use of 'Big science' research data in astrophysics and, particularly, in gravitational physics, in order to examine the way in which Big Science data are managed and produced, including any recommendations which may be appropriate . In fact, the so called 'Big Science' data are qualitatively different from others: they come in large volumes, shared and exploited in ways which may differ from other disciplines, as well. Signals from the core detectors are called 'raw data', whose semantic content is specific to detectors and software, so that preserving it long-term would represent a significant challenge. The problem of searching a common physical origin in signals detected by very different instruments, reflects in dealing with data stored using very different standards, expecially in repositories having possibly very different policies. This implies the need of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU's) to overcome data dissemination policy issues, data mining and interface infrastructures. An interesting case is the study of Gravitational Waves in eventual coincidence with Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB): two physical phenomena studied by very heterogeneous instruments and by two large communities of physicists using different methods/ and data formats, and coming from different social environments (like Astronomical Observatories, particle physics big experiments, quantum optics, space science...). A network of big detectors for Gravitational Waves exists around the World: among them 2 LIGO detectors in USA and VIRGO in Italy (proiettare slide nn 2-3. LIGO and VIRGO signed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to work as a single multi-detector observatory and the two collaboration publish their results collectively as the LVC (LIGO-Virgo Collaboration). Consortia as LSC - LIGO Scientific collaboration community - are already aware of the general need for data management, and the specific need for preservation and repositories on astrophysics and gravitational waves data research. Satellites data are stored in Open Access repositories (as the NASA's HEASARC database) or in repositories accessible by means of MOUs (Memorandum of Undestandings) and/or explicit permission (e.g. the AGILE satellite data). The National Science Fund (NSF) asked LIGO to implement an Open Access model based on the HEASARC model, while for VIRGO a more strict data dissemination policy is required (similar to that of AGILE and Astronomers community). This implies some difficulty in case of a common discovery, and, currently, the discussion in the LVC (Virgo Collaboration) is still ongoing.